Apple’s Culture of Secrecy May Be Interfering With Diversifying iPhone 14 Production

For as long as most of us can remember, Apple has maintained a culture of secrecy. This has served the Cupertino-based tech giant well in the past, allowing it to keep its competitors largely in the dark about what to really expect from new products. However, that same culture of secrecy may have hampered Apple’s efforts towards diversifying iPhone 14 production for launch.

Maintaining Apple’s High Standards for iPhone 14 Secrecy Proving a Challenge

Apple is reportedly looking to lessen its reliance on China for iPhone and other device assembly. Part of that push is to have Foxconn assemble the upcoming iPhone 14 in both China and India, where the company has facilities.

The problem is replicating the supply chain, which includes hundreds of different suppliers. According to recent reports, the biggest challenge is getting all of the components into India while also maintaining Apple’s culture of secrecy.

One possibility Apple and Foxconn executives in India explored was completely cornering off a section of one of the assembly lines. According to a recent Bloomberg report, this would involve sequestering workers and going through all possible ways the security around the device might be compromised.

Apple goes to rather extreme lengths to keep its new product specifications under wraps. Trying to get its privacy measures up to speed in India has proven difficult, if not impossible. For years, Apple has maintained arrangements with customs officials in China to prevent imported materials from being opened and photographed.

In India, that could prove unfeasible. Apple has been rather worried about that, in fact. Indian customs officials almost routinely open packages to make sure their import declaration matches the actual contents. That, obviously, opens up a potential vulnerability for product secrecy.

Even now, regulator filings from India have leaked iPhone 14 model numbers and release timing ahead of the official announcement.

Delaying iPhone 14 Production Start-Up

Because of these challenges, executives decided launching production simultaneously in India and China wasn’t in the cards for this year. It remains a long-term goal, though, and Cupertino does expect to begin receiving iPhone 14 devices from India beginning in late October or November.

The fact of the matter is, India’s workforce and factories have struggled to adapt to the way Apple prefers to do business. Secrecy issues aside, contract manufacturers Foxconn and Wistron haven’t done well keeping their employees happy. In two prominent incidents, the situation got so bad that employees revolted over salaries and substandard living and working conditions.